Towel rack for use on beaches

ABSTRACT

A foldable portable towel rack for drying out wet towels on beaches. The rack comprises an elongated body having a pair of parallel slots to holds the towels. A pair of legs swingably mounted on the underside of the ends of the body may be embedded in the sand. The body is hinged at its center and the legs are also foldable for compact storage and handling.

United States Patent [191 Marsack Mar. 18, 1975 I TOWEL RACK FOR USE ON BEACHES [76] Inventor: Warren S. Marsack, 5075 Nottingham, Detroit, Mich. 48224 [22] Filed: July 26, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 382,870

[52] 11.5. CI 211/178, 248/156, 248/439 [51] Int. Cl A47k 10/04 [58] Field of Search 211/178 R,105.1, 123; 248/156, 166, 188.6, 434, 439; 108/115; 126/29, 30, 59

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 718,714 1/1903 Larson 248/439 1,096,002 5/1914 Stopple 126/29 1,187,704 6/1916 Bronaugh 248/439 1,309,049 7/1919 Syrett 248/439 1,559,697 11/1925 Henn 126/30 X 2,512,203 6/1950 Fluharty 211/123 2,605,030 7/1952 Fischer 211/123 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 386,807 l/l933 United Kingdom 211/178 Primary E.\'aminerRoy D. Frazier Assistant ExaminerRobert W. Gibson, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm- Harness. Dickey & Pierce [57] ABSTRACT A foldable portable towel rack for drying out wet towels on beaches. The rack comprises an elongated body having a pair of parallel slots to holds the towels. A pair of legs swingably mounted on the underside of the ends of the body may be embedded in the sand, The body is hinged at its center and the legs are also foldable for compact storage and handling.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures TOWEL RACK FOR USE ON BEACHES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention This invention relates to towel racks, and more particularly for lightweight portable racks which are usable by a family at the beach. The usual procedure when going to the beach is to find a spot for the beach blanket and other paraphernalia, and after getting settled, go bathing. When the family comes out of the water, they dry themselves with the available towels. The wet towels must then be dried out to be ready for the next time.

2. Description of the Prior Art Most people try drying out the towels by laying them on the beach blanket or spreading them out on a bush, a waste receptacle or other available supports where they will be kept away from the sand. Nevertheless, it is the experience of most people that the wet towels quickly accumulate sand and the wet sand-filled towels are quite uncomfortable or unusable for the rest of the day.

A novelty search conducted on the subject matter of this invention revealed the following patents, none of which are believed to teach the invention:

l34,828 Watson 2 023, l 55 Turner 2 62l .007 Barbin BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved towel rack for use on beaches which solves the problem of drying towels for reuse without accumulating sand, and does so in a convenient and inexpensive manner.

Briefly, the invention comprises an elongated body for supporting a towel to be dried, and a pair of legs which may be stuck into the sand, the legs being pivotally mounted at opposite ends of the body and foldable against the body so that the assembly may be carried in collapsed condition.

In the illustrated embodiment, two towel slots are provided, and the body as well as the legs are foldable to reduce the carrying size.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the towel rack of this invention in open position, parts being broken away.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a portion of the rack.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of said portion of the rack.

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of a portion of the rack.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the underside of the rack in a partially folded condition.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the hinged portions of the body and legs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The towel rack is generally indicated at 11 and comprises an elongated body generally indicated at 12 and a pair oflegs generally indicated at 13 and 14. As illustrated, body 12 is made up of two sections 15 and 16, the sections being of similar shape. Although body 12 may be fabricated with any of various materials and methods, a suitable manner of constructing the body is to mold it out of plastic material having suitable strength and appearance properties.

Body 12 has a pair of elongated slots 17 and 18 in parallel relation, these slots being long enough to ac commodate towels of a size normally used on a beach. A bar 19 extends between slots 17 and I8, and the outer edges 23 and 24 of body 12 have a shallow serrated or zig-zag configuration to increase the frictional hold which the towels will have on the body. As seen in FIG. 3, downwardly extending stiffening flanges 25 and 26 surround slots 17 and 18 respectively, and a flange 27 surrounds the outside of body 12, the outer ends of the body being of curved shape.

The two body sections 15 and 16 are hinged together by a construction best seen in FIGS. 3 and 6 and indi cated at 28. The hinge means is so constructed that the sections are swingable between an open position in which they are aligned, as seen in FIG. 1, and a folded position in which the-tops of the sections are against each other, as seen partially in FIG. 6. The hinge means includes stops indicated at 29 in FIG. 1 which will prevent the sections from collapsing from their open or towel-receiving position.

Legs 13 and 14 are of L-shaped construction, with their short sections 31 (FIG. 3) being pivotally supported by sockets 32 formed on the undersides of body sections 15 and 16. The legs are shown as being of tubular shape with their longer sections being made up of two approximately equal parts 33 and 34 hinged at 35. The lower ends 36 of sections 34 are pointed so as to facilitate embedding them into the sand. The legs are of sufficient length to hold body 12 above the sand so that the towels will not pick up any sand. Hinges 35 are so constructed that sections 33 and 34 may be swung between an extended position, shown in FIG. 1, and a folded position, shown partially in FIG. 6. Stop means 37 (FIG. 6) are provided on hinges 35 for preventing the legs from collapsing by movement beyond their extended position.

Legs 13 and 14 may be swung to a folded position beneath the undersides of sections 15 and 16, and sections 34 ofeach leg may then be folded to the positions shown partially in FIG. 6. The entire assembly 11 will then be flat and occupy half its extended size.

In use, the towel rack will be carried in its collapsed position to the beach and may then be unfolded to its FIG. 1 position and points 36 of legs 13 and 14 stuck into the sand. As beach towels become wet, they may be slipped into slots 17 and 18 of body 12 where they will be supported above the ground and dried quickly for reuse without becoming dirty or picking up sand. When the day is over, the rack may be lifted out of the sand, legs 13 and 14 swung into parallel relation with body 12, sections 34 of each leg folded, and then sections 15 and 16 of the body folded by swinging about hinges 28.

I claim:

1. A towel rack for use on beaches comprising an elongated body of a proper size to accommodate a towel which may be placed thereon, whereby a midportion of the towel will rest on the body, said body being made up of at least two sections, each section having an integral outer end portion and a plurality of parallel bars extending inwardly therefrom to define towelreceiving slots therebetween, hinge means connecting the bars of said two sections permitting pivotal movement thereof from a horizontally aligned, opened position to a folded, collapsed position, whereby said slots will be continuous along the entire extent of said body when the sections are opened, the axis of said hinge means being horizontal when the body is in its open position whereby one section may be folded under the other to collapse the body, said hinge means including stop means for preventing collapse of the body in the opposite direction beyond its open position when a towel rests thereon, a pair of legs extending from said opposite end portions of said body and of sufficient length to permit them to be stuck into the sand to support the body high enough so that a towel supported thereby will not touch the sand while being dried, means mounting the upper ends of said legs on said outer end portions of said body so as to permit the legs to be moved between extended positions perpendicular to the body and folded positions parallel to the body section, the width of said body being substantially less than the length of said legs, whereby the body will be supported only by said pair of legs when stuck in the sand, and the assembly may be easily carried when the legs are folded.

2. The combination according to claim 1, said body having two parallel slots.

3. The combination according to claim 1, the outer edges of said body having a serrated shape which zigzags toward and away from said slots to enhance gripping of the towel by the body.

4. The combination accordingto claim 1, each of said legs being made up of two sections hingedly connected so that the legs may be folded in half.

5. The combination according to claim 4, said body having two parallel slots.

6. The combination according to claim 5, the outer edges of said body having a serrated shape which zigzags toward and away from said slots to enhance gripping of the towel by the body. 

1. A towel rack for use on beaches comprising an elongated body of a proper size to accommodate a towel which may be placed thereon, whereby a midportion of the towel will rest on the body, said body being made up of at least two sections, each section having an integral outer end portion and a plurality of parallel bars extending inwardly therefrom to define towel-receiving slots therebetween, hinge means connecting the bars of said two sections permitting pivotal movement thereof from a horizontally aligned, opened position to a folded, collapsed position, whereby said slots will be continuous along the entire extent of said body when the sections are opened, the axis of said hinge means being horizontal when the body is in its open position whereby one section may be folded under the other to collapse the body, said hinge means including stop means for preventing collapse of the body in the opposite direction beyond its open position when a towel rests thereon, a pair of legs extending from said opposite end portions of said body and of sufficient length to permit them to be stuck into the sand to support the body high enough so that a towel supported thereby will nOt touch the sand while being dried, means mounting the upper ends of said legs on said outer end portions of said body so as to permit the legs to be moved between extended positions perpendicular to the body and folded positions parallel to the body section, the width of said body being substantially less than the length of said legs, whereby the body will be supported only by said pair of legs when stuck in the sand, and the assembly may be easily carried when the legs are folded.
 2. The combination according to claim 1, said body having two parallel slots.
 3. The combination according to claim 1, the outer edges of said body having a serrated shape which zigzags toward and away from said slots to enhance gripping of the towel by the body.
 4. The combination according to claim 1, each of said legs being made up of two sections hingedly connected so that the legs may be folded in half.
 5. The combination according to claim 4, said body having two parallel slots.
 6. The combination according to claim 5, the outer edges of said body having a serrated shape which zigzags toward and away from said slots to enhance gripping of the towel by the body. 